Three-Day Workshop on “The American West and Western Film Genre”

Public Contact: Sheryl Cannady (202) 707-6456 | Mike Mashon, (202) 707-5698Contact: Request ADA accommodations five business days in advance at (202) 707-6362 or [email protected]Request ADA accommodations five business days in advance at (202) 707-6362 or [email protected]

In August, the Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation will host a unique educational and cinematic experience for local teachers as part of The Film Foundation’s innovative educational initiative, “Story of Movies.” The free, three-day seminar—“The American West and Western Film Genre”—will offer educators an interdisciplinary curriculum covering this important period of American history (1860-1900) and exploring how 20th-century filmmakers represented this era.

Held at the cutting-edge Packard Campus facility in Culpeper,Va., Thursday, Aug. 1 through Saturday, Aug. 3, the seminar will introduce teachers to the core principles of the initiative and propose topics, lessons and activities around the curriculum. Participating educators will screen films on the related topic and take training materials back to their schools for pilot-site testing in their classrooms (grades 5-12).

“The Story of Movies” is designed to help students better understand the language of film and visual images. The curriculum’s objective is to provide students with a deeper understanding of the various stages of American cultural history by examining the mythology of the Western genre.

Morning workshops will focus on cinematic literacy and language, and on films as historical and cultural documents. Support materials include screening activities and primary-source documents. Lunch will be provided for registered participants. Afternoon and evening screenings feature classic Western films selected to the Library of Congress National Film Registry because of their cultural, historic or aesthetic significance (www.loc.gov/film/filmnfr.html) Pre- and post-screening discussions are scheduled.

Morning workshops require pre-registration; classroom capacity is limited. Educators may register for one, two or three morning workshops. The registration deadline is Friday, June 21. To register, contact Julia Wayne at (323) 436-5065, [email protected]. Please provide the following information: name, school, city/state, email, phone number and the attendance date(s). For more information regarding the schedule, visit www.storyofmovies.org External.

The Saturday matinee (2 p.m.) and all evening screenings (7:30 p.m.) are free and open to the public, but reservations for the Packard Campus theater screenings are strongly recommended. To reserve seats, call (540) 827-1079 ext. 79994 or (202) 707-9994 during the weekday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Reservations will be held until 10 minutes before showtime. In case of inclement weather, call the theater reservation line no more than three hours before showtime to verify status. For further information on the theater and film schedule, visit www.loc.gov/avconservation/theater/.

The Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation is a state-of-the-art facility funded as a gift to the nation by the Packard Humanities Institute. The Packard Campus is the site where the nation’s library acquires, preserves and provides access to the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of motion pictures, television programs, radio broadcasts and sound recordings (www.loc.gov/avconservation/). The Packard Campus is home to nearly 7 million collection items. Many of the Library’s rich resources can be accessed through its website at www.loc.gov.

The mission of the Film Foundation, a non-profit 501(c) (3) organization founded by Martin Scorsese and other prominent filmmakers, is to preserve America’s cultural and artistic film heritage and to ensure that classic films remain accessible to future generations. The groundbreaking educational initiative “The Story of Movies” exposes middle-and-high school students to classic cinema, teaches them how to understand the visual language of film, and encourages them to appreciate the social, historical and cultural significance of film.